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http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Sep26/0,4670,LethalInjectionTexas,00.html
Review Doesn't Halt Texas Executions
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The nation's busiest death penalty state executed
another inmate Tuesday night, hours after the Supreme Court said it would
review whether the lethal injection method most states use is cruel and
unusual.
Michael Richard, 49, was put to death for the 1986 shooting of Marguerite
Lucille Dixon, a 53-year-old nurse and mother of seven. Richard had been
released from his second prison term eight weeks before Dixon was raped and
killed inside her home.
Asked if he'd like to make a final statement, Richard said, "I'd like my
family to take care of each other. I love you, Angel. Let's ride." He was
pronounced dead at 8:23 p.m.
Another execution, the 27th in Texas this year, remained scheduled for
Thursday, and officials said Tuesday's announcement by the Supreme Court
would not affect the state's execution docket.
"We will go forward with our interpretation of the law," Gov. Rick Perry
said.
After the Supreme Court's announcement, Richard's attorneys asked the
justices to halt his execution in the meantime, but the court rejected that
appeal.
Ten of the 37 states that use the three-drug ****tail under review by the
Supreme Court have suspended its use after opponents alleged it was
ineffective and cruel, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
But Texas is unlikely to halt lethal injections unless the Supreme Court
issues a blanket stay.
"We are monitoring this, but until the court rules or gives direction,
nothing changes from our perspective," said Allison Castle, a Perry
spokeswoman.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott declined to comment.
If the three-drug ****tail were outlawed, it wouldn't be the first time
Texas adapted to changing rules on how to humanely execute inmates.
Criminals who committed capital crimes died by hanging in Texas from 1819 to
1923, said Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice.
On Feb. 8, 1924, the state executed five people in the electric chair, the
method it would use to kill 361 inmates through 1964.
Richard was convicted and sentenced to death in 1987. The Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals threw out his conviction in 1992 because jurors were not
allowed to consider evidence that Richard had been abused as a child. In
1995, a second jury convicted him and sentenced him to die.
At least one psychological assessment put his IQ at 64, with 70 considered
the threshold of retardation.
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down requests to halt the execution because of
claims Richard was mentally retarded. Attorneys then asked for a reprieve
because the court had decided to consider the lethal injection matter, but
almost two hours later, the justices rejected the appeal.
Review Doesn't Halt Texas Executions
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The nation's busiest death penalty state executed
another inmate Tuesday night, hours after the Supreme Court said it would
review whether the lethal injection method most states use is cruel and
unusual.
Michael Richard, 49, was put to death for the 1986 shooting of Marguerite
Lucille Dixon, a 53-year-old nurse and mother of seven. Richard had been
released from his second prison term eight weeks before Dixon was raped and
killed inside her home.
Asked if he'd like to make a final statement, Richard said, "I'd like my
family to take care of each other. I love you, Angel. Let's ride." He was
pronounced dead at 8:23 p.m.
Another execution, the 27th in Texas this year, remained scheduled for
Thursday, and officials said Tuesday's announcement by the Supreme Court
would not affect the state's execution docket.
"We will go forward with our interpretation of the law," Gov. Rick Perry
said.
After the Supreme Court's announcement, Richard's attorneys asked the
justices to halt his execution in the meantime, but the court rejected that
appeal.
Ten of the 37 states that use the three-drug ****tail under review by the
Supreme Court have suspended its use after opponents alleged it was
ineffective and cruel, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
But Texas is unlikely to halt lethal injections unless the Supreme Court
issues a blanket stay.
"We are monitoring this, but until the court rules or gives direction,
nothing changes from our perspective," said Allison Castle, a Perry
spokeswoman.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott declined to comment.
If the three-drug ****tail were outlawed, it wouldn't be the first time
Texas adapted to changing rules on how to humanely execute inmates.
Criminals who committed capital crimes died by hanging in Texas from 1819 to
1923, said Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice.
On Feb. 8, 1924, the state executed five people in the electric chair, the
method it would use to kill 361 inmates through 1964.
Richard was convicted and sentenced to death in 1987. The Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals threw out his conviction in 1992 because jurors were not
allowed to consider evidence that Richard had been abused as a child. In
1995, a second jury convicted him and sentenced him to die.
At least one psychological assessment put his IQ at 64, with 70 considered
the threshold of retardation.
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down requests to halt the execution because of
claims Richard was mentally retarded. Attorneys then asked for a reprieve
because the court had decided to consider the lethal injection matter, but
almost two hours later, the justices rejected the appeal.
